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A Technology Roadmap
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Roadmap Participants
Steering Committee
Paul Alivisatos, University of California at Berkeley
Pearl Chin, Foresight Nanotech Institute
K. Eric Drexler, Nanorex
Mauro Ferrari, University of Texas–Houston, Institute of Molecular Medicine
Doon Gibbs, Brookhaven National Laboratory
William Goddard III, Beckman Institute, California Institute of Technology
William Haseltine, William A. Haseltine Foundation for Medical Sciences and the Arts
Steve Jurvetson, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Alex Kawczak, Battelle Memorial Institute
Charles Lieber, Harvard University
Christine Peterson, Foresight Nanotech Institute
John Randall, Zyvex Labs
James Roberto, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Nadrian Seeman, New York University
Rick Snyder, Ardesta
J. Fraser Stoddart, University of California at Los Angeles
Ted Waitt, Waitt Family Foundation
Editors
K. Eric Drexler, Nanorex; John Randall, Zyvex Labs; Stephanie Corchnoy, Synchrona;
Alex Kawczak, Battelle Memorial Institute; Michael L. Steve, Battelle Memorial Institute
Contributing Editors
Jeffrey Soreff, IBM; Damian G. Allis, Syracuse University; Jim Von Ehr, Zyvex Labs
Notice
The views expressed in this document are the personal opinions and
projections of the individual authors as subject matter experts and do
not necessarily represent the views of their organizations of affiliation
or employment.
The most attractive early applications of APM are those that can yield
large payoffs from small quantities of relatively simple AP structures.
These applications include sensors, computer devices, catalysts, and
therapeutic agents. Many other applications, such as materials and
energy production systems, present greater challenges of product cost
or complexity. There is likewise a spectrum of challenges in required
materials properties and durability in application environments. Early
niche applications can provide momentum and market revenue, and we
anticipate that ongoing improvements in product performance,
complexity, and cost will ultimately enable the full spectrum of
applications outlined in the Roadmap, as well as applications yet to be
imagined.
• Multifunctional biosensors
• Anti-viral, -cancer agents
• 5-nm-scale logic elements
Applications • Nano-enabled fuel cells and solar
photovoltaics,
• High-value nanomaterials
• Artificial productive nanosystems
Executive Summary................................................................................. v
Introduction.............................................................................................. 1
Applications.............................................................................................. 22
Aspect of atomic
Enabled features and applications:
precision:
Precise internal Materials with novel properties (optical,
structures piezoelectric, electronic...) with extremely broad
applications
Defect-free materials that achieve their ideal
strength, conductivity, transparency... These apply to a range of
Absence of statistical fluctuations in dopants levels of fabrication
enabling scaling to smaller gate size capabilities (see Table 2)
This suggests applications in areas such as sensors (DNA sequencing, Perhaps the most impor-
for example), information processing (quantum encryption and tant contribution of tip-
computing), and the creation of atomically precise tools (such as based APM will be to
nanoimprint templates). Perhaps the most important contribution of make the atomically
tip-based APM will be to make the atomically precise components precise components
required for productive nanosystems. required for productive
nanosystems
Complementary Nature of Tip-Based and
Bio-Based Technologies
It should be clear that tip-based and bio-based APM technologies
address different problems, face different challenges, and provide
different results. They are in no sense competitors, but are in fact
complementary. Moreover, the MMCN vision embraces self-assembled
structures that interface with the products of tip-APM systems. Each
approach increases the value of the other, because both together
promise to enable a broader range of products and applications.
The weakness of structural The manufacture of atomically precise individual devices, such as
frameworks in the area of molecular wires and switches, has been demonstrated. However, the
nanosystems engineering devices have seen little use, largely because of the lag in the further
can be overcome by the development of technology to make comparably precise frameworks to
development of APM-
hold and organize them. Transistors and conductors would have
remained laboratory curiosities if the technology to organize them to
based fabrication.
form circuits would not have matured. Similarly, we know of the
development of many molecular motors, bearings, and so forth, but we
do not have a way to connect them to build systems.
Advanced functional nanosystems—products of APM—will lead to the Clean, efficient, and cost-
innovation of productive nanosystems. These, in turn, will advance effective energy and long
APM, enabling yet more products and applications. Thus, a focus on awaited breakthroughs in
technologies and applications relevant to APM will facilitate the targeted multi-functional
emerging revolution of productive nanosystems, and hence will support in-vivo and in-vitro
the vision articulated by this Roadmap initiative. The grand challenges therapeutics and
for clean, efficient, and cost-effective energy and long awaited diagnostic devices for
breakthroughs in targeted multi-functional in-vivo and in-vitro cancer and other diseases
therapeutics and diagnostic devices for cancer and other diseases are are two of the most
two of the most compelling drivers to advance the development of compelling drivers to
atomically precise technologies. advance the development
of atomically precise
From the industrial point of view, the most attractive near-term
technologies.
applications for Atomically Precise Technologies are those which are
high-value applications that exploit the atomic precision of an APM
output and are enabled with a very small volume of atomically precise
matter. Good candidates for these applications are sensors, metrology
standards, and quantum computing. Although an application with a
very large market would be ideal, the initial applications may very well
be niche applications with a modest market. This hypothetical niche
market might not be worth the initial investment of developing APM,
However, for a company bold enough to make that investment, once
such an application demonstrated the feasibility and efficacy of APM,
the investments to develop slightly more ambitious products would
follow. Growing revenues from those products would start the
economic drivers that would produce the manufacturing throughput
and capability to capitalize on the applications listed below and many
others.
Fuel Cells
PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cells represent a class of
technology that is expected to eventually become a major source of
clean energy, because of their environmentally friendly operating
characteristics and uniquely high energy-conversion efficiency. Despite
definitive advances in recent years, existing fuel-cell technology still has
several challenges, including: (i) the lower than theoretical efficiency of
energy conversion, (ii) the high platinum content of electrocatalysts,
and (iii) the instability of platinum under long-term operational cycling
conditions.
For example, it is currently the relatively low efficiency of blue light Small molecular building
emission that limits the overall efficiency and stability of white OLEDs. blocks can be incorporated
Using molecular engineering, however, it has recently been into larger, tractable
demonstrated that small molecular building blocks can be incorporated molecules with excellent
into larger, tractable molecules with excellent electron transport electron transport
properties by using saturated linkers to extend the size of the molecule properties by using
without extending its conjugation length. saturated linkers to extend
the size of the molecule
We do not currently have the synthetic techniques to combine without extending its
molecular building blocks with monodisperse noble metal nanoparticles
conjugation length.
with atomic precision in an electroluminescent device. If such
techniques could be developed, the efficiency of fluorescent OLEDs and
conventional LEDs could likely be increased multifold via plasmonic
effects, with a concomitant increase in the efficiency of solid state
lighting devices.
Solar Energy
Direct conversion of sunlight into energy using photovoltaic (PV)
devices is being increasingly recognized as an important component of
Piezoelectric Energy
Piezoelectric materials can generate electrical energy from mechanical
energy. This means that piezoceramics and piezopolymers can be
effectively used as motion sensors, but also that they can be used to
Waveguides
Advances in waveguide technology have created the information
revolution of the past 20 years. Future advances in waveguide
technology due to atomically precise manufacturing (APM) could have
impacts that are as large as, or larger than, what has been experienced in
information technology and sensor fabrication, in addition to enabling
the development of silicon photonics.
Waveguide sensors have multiple attractive features, including APM can enhance these
compactness, robustness, resistance to electromagnetic interference, sensors in multiple ways,
and remote connection to instrumentation using optical fibers. These including the fabrication
sensors primarily operate using either evanescent field sensing of patterned surfaces on
techniques (grating couplers, waveguide interferometers, surface the waveguide to allow
plasmon resonance sensors) or surface acoustic wave techniques. In detection of multiple
both cases, the waveguide surface is treated to allow binding of the targets, formation of
desired species, which alters the signal propagating along the tailored binding sites to
waveguide. APM can enhance these sensors in multiple ways, including reduce the non-specific
the fabrication of patterned surfaces on the waveguide to allow binding of other species to
detection of multiple targets, formation of tailored binding sites to the surface, and the
reduce the non-specific binding of other species to the surface, and the
fabrication of waveguides
fabrication of waveguides with tailored optical or acoustical properties
with tailored optical or
that would allow for improved or alternate signal transduction.
acoustical properties that
Silicon photonics is an effort to increase the bandwidth of the connec- would allow for improved
tions between microprocessors by using optical transfer of data. The or alternate signal
key is all components of the optical interconnects must be fabricated as transduction.
part of the CMOS manufacturing, using standard techniques. Although
silicon waveguides have been used for some time, only recently has
continuous lasing been demonstrated in silicon. Because of the much
smaller size of optical components in silicon as opposed to silica, APM
techniques will be required to allow for the fabrication of the full range
of silicon optical components (waveguides, lasers, amplifiers, filters,
resonators, attenuators, modulators, etc.) needed for the complete
realization of the potential of this technology. In particular, fabrication
of the laser cavity, and the localized doping of the silicon to form
modulators and the lasers will require the integration of APM tech-
niques into the CMOS manufacturing process. (See Risser, Paper 39,
Working Group Proceedings.)
Biological Sensors
Future sensor designs for biological monitoring and screening will need
to capitalize on the enormous amounts of information resulting from Effective chemical sensing
genome sequencing and systems biology related efforts. Effective capabilities require
approaches to screening for metabolic indicators, disease associated controlled specificity and
markers, or the activity of potential pharmaceutical reagents will be
sensitivity to an analyte
enabled by biosensor technologies. Increasing the speed and accuracy of
and the capability to
such measurements requires recognition of diverse chemical reagents.
transduce sensor
Related sensing capabilities for in situ biological monitoring will need to
information into a useful
integrate information assessment with an appropriate compensatory
response while being self-powered, self-healing and biologically format. Atomically precise
compatible. Such attributes will be essential for realizing in vivo sensors manufacturing is well
aimed at ameliorating the effects of disease or for the long-term positioned to meet this and
monitoring biological processes. Effective chemical sensing capabilities other challenges posed by
require controlled specificity and sensitivity to an analyte and the next generation sensing
capability to transduce sensor information into a useful format. formats.
Atomically precise manufacturing is well positioned to meet this and
other challenges posed by next generation sensing formats.
Many applications utilizing SWNTs require chemical modification of The advantage of single-
the carbon nanotubes to make them more amenable to rational and walled carbon nanotubes
predictable manipulation. For example, the generation of high strength (SWNTs) is that they are
fibers is associated with the individualization of nanotubes and their chemically, molecularly
subsequent dispersion into a polymer matrix. Moreover, the require- defined structures with
ments of load-transfer efficiency demand that nanotube surfaces should reproducible dimensions.
be compatible with the host matrix. Secondly, sensor applications
involve the tethering onto nanotube surfaces of chemical moieties with
specific recognition sites for analytes with ensuing triggering of a
predictable response in the nanotube’s optical or transport properties.
Thirdly, gas storage and lithium intercalation applications necessitate
the opening of hollow cavities in nanotube sidewalls. To fulfill all of
these varied stipulations at the nanoscale requires an intimate and
precise understanding of the chemistry and functionality of carbon
nanotubes, such as would be offered by atomically precise
manufacturing.
The main problem with the majority of popular synthetic methods for
growing SWNTs (i.e., laser ablation, arc-discharge, and chemical vapor
deposition) is that they produce samples yielding a mixture of many
different diameters and chiralities of nanotubes that are moreover
contaminated with metallic and amorphous impurities. Thus, post-
synthesis chemical processing protocols, that purify tubes and that can
also separate individual tubes according to diameter and chirality by
taking advantage of their intrinsically differential reactivity, are often
the only viable routes towards rational and predictable manipulation of
the favorable electronic and mechanical properties of these materials.
Nanowires and nanotubes carry charge and excitons efficiently, and are
therefore potentially ideal building blocks for nanoscale electronics and Nanowires and nanotubes
optoelectronics. Carbon nanotubes have already been exploited in carry charge and excitons
devices such as field-effect and single electron transistors, but the efficiently, and are there-
practical utility of nanotube components for building electronic circuits fore potentially ideal
is limited, as it is not yet possible to selectively grow semiconducting or building blocks for nano-
metallic nanotubes. The electrical properties of the assembly of scale electronics and
functional nanoscale devices are controlled by selective doping. (See optoelectronics.
Wei, Paper 29, Working Group Proceedings.)
The ITRS process does more than this: it looks ahead not one, but
several technology generations, helping to guide the research that will
To develop complex create the options for developing the equipment that will implement
systems, efforts must be the digital electronic systems that will revolutionize the world a decade
coordinated so as to
hence. This has been an essential part of the first industry to build
complex, integrated nanosystems. In this way, the ITRS process has
develop all the parts they
transformed our lives.
require. This entails
selecting and refining We cannot hope to match the ITRS achievement today, in part because
objectives, determining of the exploratory nature of this initial roadmap, and in part because of
requirements, considering the greater diversity and earlier stage of APT, APM, and their
options for meeting them, applications. The principle, however, is the same: To develop complex
and thereby identifying systems, efforts must be coordinated so as to develop all the parts they
research directions that require. This entails selecting and refining objectives, determining
are more likely to produce requirements, considering options for meeting them, and thereby
results of great value. identifying research directions that are more likely to produce results of
great value.
Design software for APT and APM will draw on progress in the
modeling community, but it presents distinct challenges that are not yet
receiving sufficient attention. This is understandable because APM is in
its infancy, and design software will necessarily be technology and
material dependent. However, as APM techniques advance, design
software will be an important and increasingly necessary enabling tool.
This is an area that calls for new initiatives with the objective of
developing and improving software that supports systematic design Greater investment is
methodologies.Without sufficient investment, design software would needed in applicable
become a bottleneck in developing AP nanosystems. modeling techniques, with
an increased emphasis on
Modeling and experimentation add to a store of knowledge regarding multilevel, multiphysics
AP structures and processes. This knowledge, together with modeling, modeling that can support
will inform the design process for AP nanosystems. Today, much of that the design of larger and
knowledge is dispersed and, in effect, inaccessible to designers. It more complex systems.
resides in a host of different journals and databases, and it is not
indexed in a manner that makes it useful for design.
Characterization
All manufacturing processes depend on inspection and metrology to
control the manufacturing process. The current analytical characteriza-
Because tasks and functions at the often parallel those at the macro-
scale, the required components and devices likewise are often parallel.
Structural frameworks require components like beams, plates, and rods,
The active systems for APM are also within the grasp of existing
technology but will be operating in regimes where production
manufacturing tools have not yet tread and will require challenging
system integration, especially when scaling up to higher levels of
throughput through parallelism and higher-frequency operations.
This objective suggest a range useful research challenges that are useful
or necessary to meet in order to develop early-generation APPNs and
products of practical utility:
• Design and evaluation of competing architectures for broadly
ribosome-like APPNs, in order to prioritize options for
meeting the following challenges.
• Development of competing options for backbone structures.
Monomer accessibility, reactivity and cost are
considerations, as well as the properties of the resulting
structures.
• Development of nucleic acid (or analogous) adapters to bind
sequences of monomers in accordance with base sequences
in DNA strands.
• Development of mechanisms for binding and transporting
sequences of monomers to a reaction site where they are
linked and removed from their carrier.
• Provision of high-purity feedstocks of correctly coupled
monomers and adapters (purity is a constraint on defect
rates in the product structures).
• Development of monomers and linking mechanisms that
enable the production of densely cross-linked AP polymeric
objects of high stability, strength, rigidity, and overall
robustness.
• Further development of pairs of interface structures and
moities that can be covalently “locked” to give self-assembled
products higher stability, strength, and overall robustness.
The challenges for modeling here differ from those in molecular biology
and biochemistry. As noted in an earlier section, components that are
(for example) relatively rigid, regular, and stable can be far more
susceptible to atomistic modeling than are components accessible by
means of current fabrication processes. Further, straw-man exploratory
designs can include susceptibility to modeling as a design criterion.
These considerations facilitate the design, modeling, and evaluation of
important classes of potential downstream development targets,
including nanomechanical systems comprising advanced-generation
APPNs. The challenges are quite unlike those of modeling, for example,
soft, un-designed biological systems presented by nature.
The Opportunity
This Roadmap’s sketch of Atomically Precise Manufacturing offers a
Now is the time to take the vision with immense leverage—and challenges—in many areas. It builds
next step of accelerating on and extends the nanoscience foundation established by the U.S.
the translation of our
National Nanotechnology Initiative1 and similar initiatives in other
countries. While only a small subset of possible breakthroughs enabled
global nanoscience
by APM has been described in this Roadmap, success in just one of
research into beneficial
these areas would justify a major program. The economic value derived
nanotechnology, by
from early APM commercialization is projected to be enormous,
launching programs
creating huge new economic opportunities for those who succeed.
focused on the
development and We urge involvement by responsible participants worldwide in
commercialization of achieving APM. Now is the time to take the next step of accelerating the
APM. translation of our global nanoscience research into beneficial
nanotechnology, by launching programs focused on the development
and commercialization of APM. In the U.S., the NNI has been
instrumental in focusing world attention on nanoscience and has
provided world leadership in establishing the necessary interdisciplinary
research. A major opportunity exists to leverage the past eight years of
NNI research platforms and to establish a unifying vision for the
advancement of atomically precise technologies and APM. Our aim in
this Roadmap is to call for the development of Atomically Precise
Manufacturing Technologies that will address the grand challenges of
1
National Nanotechnology Initiative web information at www.nano.gov
In the U.S., new types of government funding programs are needed that
support larger research budgets for longer times than programs such as
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). The Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA) model of R&D funding2 works very
2
DARPA maintains a very small staff of highly technical Program Managers
who have broad discretion to propose programs, award significant contracts,
and push for breakthrough results in short time horizons. Bypassing most of
the bureaucracy involved in normal government R&D contracts, this model
can fund risky projects that other agencies would shy away from. For two
and makes available printed and other materials as directed by the NSET
Subcommittee, and maintains the NNI Web site.
4
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network web information at
www.nnin.org
Conclusion
The sooner we launch programs to develop APM and productive
nanosystems, the sooner our vision suggests we can enjoy the benefits
of cleaner energy and healthier lives. A vital next step is further
development of this Roadmap by an expanded international team
drawing from a wide variety of nanoscale-focused organizations.
The graphic on the following page gives an overview of the basis for
collaborative research and the possible early and advanced outcomes in
productive nanosystems and applications. The research areas indicated
therein and the tools necessary for making progress toward developing
nanotechnology applications are discussed in the next section, Topics in
Detail.
1.1 Introduction
This topic covers passive and active components of kinds that may
prove useful in implementing atomically precise functional nano-
systems. The boundary dividing “components and devices” (discussed
here) from “systems” (discussed in a later section) is necessarily
somewhat arbitrary. The line drawn here includes passive and active
structures that have what are in some sense elementary functions. Some
are structural elements that in combination could form an extended
framework; others are functional elements that could (e.g., logic gates)
be composed to make functional systems (e.g., computing devices).
1.2.2 Surfaces
Perfect surfaces of stiff crystals are attractive building platforms for
Perfect surfaces of stiff atomically precise structures (see also Topic 2 Systems and
crystals provide long range Frameworks). They provide long range atomically precise positioning,
atomically precise effectively using the parallel chemical bonds in the bulk of the crystal to
positioning, effectively constrain the amplitude of both thermal fluctuations and the elastic
using the parallel chemical deformations that may result from forces applied by a mechanical
bonds in the bulk of the nanosystem. Today, atomically flat crystal terraces as large as 8x8
crystal to constrain the microns are available for silicon (Lee et al., 2001).
amplitude of both thermal
fluctuations and the elastic 1.2.3 Sheets and Fibers
deformations that may
result from forces applied A sheet, like graphene or MoS2 can serve as a stable substrate analogous
by a mechanical to a crystal terrace, albeit without the mechanical reinforcement
nanosystem.
provided by the subsurface chemical bonds. In the plane of the sheet, it
is still a highly fused polycyclic system.
1.2.4 Dendrimers
Dendrimers are special polymers assembled by a branching growth
process, conceptually beginning with groups A and B that will bond,
e.g., after an activation step on B. Starting with a single root molecule of
the form AXB2, the two B groups are activated, then reacted with two
additional molecules of the monomer to form AX(B-AXB2)2. The four B
groups on this must then be activated and reacted with four molecules
of the monomer to form AX(B-AX(B-AXB2)2)2. Each of these steps is
called a generation. The molecule starts from a single point, and the
number of groups attached to that point grows exponentially with the
generation number such that the process is eventually limited by steric
congestion. If one stops short of that limit, the correctly synthesized
molecules are atomically precise. A wide variety of dendrimers have
been synthesized. The monomers used in each generation can differ,
e.g., AXB2 and AYB2. This yields options somewhat like those in
foldamers, but with less information per dalton because the late
generation monomers are numerous and are all identical in any given
generation.
Preparing finite nanotube segments that are atomically precise in the The fullerenes and the
same way that, e.g., anthracene, is atomically precise, will be a more C222H42 graphene sheets
challenging research goal. This will require that all of the segments be of are atomically precise
precisely the same length, and that their terminal groups match as well. components today, and
could be incorporated as a
A natural target of APM is to prepare such structures. It is possible that section of a foldamer
this may be a relatively near-term task. The conditions for producing component where a small
nanotubes today are rather drastic (laser or arc vaporization, high but high stiffness part is
temperature CVD), but the conditions for forming/interconnecting the needed.
aromatic rings in synthesizing C222H42 are rather mild (FeCl3 oxidation)
(see Kastler, 2006 ). A similar reaction may be feasible in early MMCNs
(see Topic 2 Systems and Frameworks), potentially allowing true
atomically precise SWCNT segments to be prepared.
1.3.1 Biological
All cellular organisms contain both linear and rotary molecular motors
(MM). An additional example is a bacteriophage that uses an ATP-
fueled corkscrew motor to fill and pressurize a capsule with DNA.
While fluorescence labeling can be used to characterize the structure
and motion of MM, their localization remains a synthetic challenge.
One option for a positioning template is the bacterial S-layer; another is
a DNA origami based framework (see Topic 2 Systems and Frame-
works), an approach that promises great control in building complex,
functional structures.
70 Topics in Detail Nanotechnology Roadmap
Existing biological motors have diverse properties:
• Flagella
− Contain all of the components of conventional motors
(bearings, rotators, shafts, stators, fuel requirement, etc.)
− Powered by the flow of protons across a membrane
− Self assemble from 40 proteins
• Myosin (a muscle protein)
− Uses ATP fuel
− Drives linear motion of fibers, causing muscle
contraction
• Kinesin
− Uses ATP fuel, 100 steps/second, 5-7 pN force
− Transports large cargo objects (cell organelles) along
microtubules.
• ATP Synthase
− Rotary motor, 44 pN force
− Powered by the flow of protons across a membrane, the
resulting mechanical energy is used to sythesize ATP
• DNA Translocase
− Acts like a fishing rod reel: pulls in DNA like a line
− Bidirectional translocation
− When attached to a surface: directional, provides useful
work-pulls DNA in
− Motor is controllable (via methylation)
1.3.2 Synthetic
Atomically Precise. A photochemical rotary motor is an example of an
atomically precise stepping motor. This motor uses a C=C double bond A photochemical rotary
as an axle and operates in a four-state cycle. Upon irradiation with 280 motor is an atomically
nm UV light, state A isomerizes to state B, which then relaxes thermally precise, unidirectional
into state C, characterized by the rearrangement of sterically hindered motor that is steppable.
aromatic groups attached to the double bond. Upon irridation with a
unique frequency of UV light, 380 nm, state C isomerizes to state D,
rotating the double bond by another 180 degrees. Finally, state D
thermally relaxes back to state A, completing the cycle. This atomically
precise motor is unidirectional and, because of the different light
frequencies used, steppable. (See Vicario et al., 2006.)
1.3.3 Macroscopic
Scanning probe systems with atomically precise positioning capability
typically use macroscopic positioning components (often piezoelectric
ceramics). Extending the range and repeatability of these components
and of systems containing them would be useful in developing
atomically precise systems.
1.5.1 Catalysts
A vast array of catalysts is known. In some reactions a catalyst can be as
simple as a hydrogen ion. For the purpose of near-tem use in molecule-
processing nanosystems, an important category of atomically precise
examples is the set of metal complexes used in homogeneous catalysis.
1.5.2 Enzymes
Enzymes are a special category of atomically precise catalyst, composed
of proteins, and able to catalyze a wide variety of reactions. They have
been heavily studied, and many of their active sites are known in atomic
detail.
1.6 Computation
1.6.2 Memory
Every logic technology listed above can also be used to build cross-
coupled inverters and therefore memory. Additionally:
• DNA, as well as being useful as a structural material, is also
usable as an information storage medium.
• A wide range of structures with bistable energy minima are
candidates for information storage:
− Molecules exhibiting cis-trans isomerism
− Slowly interconverting tautomeric pairs
− Rotaxanes with two or more energy minima
− Van der Waals bonds between elastically deformed
nanotubes
− Hydrogen bonds with double well minima
− Electronic double minima in which an electron can be
located on either of two metal ions, both of which are
stable in two oxidation states
Electrical Conductors.
• Tour wires – mixed sp2/sp conjugated oligo(phenylene
ethynylene)s. Atomically precise, including end groups.
Metal junctions with these have been heavily studied
(notably Au/thiol contacts). Some chemical versatility, can be
built with substituents on phenylene hydrogens
• sp2 conjugated polymers, polyacetylene, polyaniline,
polythiophene. Locally, each of these is atomically precise.
• Nanotubes. There is an extensive literature on electrical
conduction in carbon nanotubes. By some measures, their
1.9 Photonics
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2.1 Introduction
This topic gives a survey of a range of atomically precise systems and
subsystems that can serve roles in nanosystems engineering and its
applications. It aims to give a sense of the breadth of functional system
requirements and potential implementation technologies for physical
systems able to satisfy those requirements.
2.2.1 Background
The ability to build atomically precise frameworks for organizing
components is fundamental to atomically precise manufacturing (APM)
of all kinds, and to the development of productive nanosystems. Also
important is the ability to interface precise frameworks and
components with imprecise structures, such as nanolithographically
patterned substrates and circuits.
DNA has only four kinds of monomers; these are bulky and similar to
one another, and can form only a relatively narrow range of structural
motifs. Consequently, DNA nanotechnologies enable only relatively
coarse-grained control of molecular shapes and surface properties.
While DNA nanotechnologies make possible large, intricate, easy-to-
design, easy-to-make structures, the nature of the material limits its
utility for many other applications. This limitation is addressed by the
MMCN approach described below. It is further mitigated by the Proteins to Interface
availability of hundreds of synthetic DNA analogs with diverse
Bio-Proteins
backbones: Like DNA, these polymers can bind by means Watson-Crick
base pairing, yet they can display more diverse surfaces and covalently
The goal of Baker Lab
attached functional elements. Thus, synthetic DNA analogs provide
another family of modular molecular materials for use in MMCN design work is a general protocol
and fabrication. for design of proteins that
will bind to natural
In terms of distinct, addressable attachment points, resolution of the proteins. An example
structures that Rothemund has been able to construct with DNA is 3.5 would be an artificial
nm by 6 nm, set by inter-strand spacing, and by the distance between antibody aimed at a pre-
junctions on a strand. Important to remember for interfacing of the chosen face of an analyte
structures is the three-dimensional nature of the helical structure of the protein—engineerable for
DNA. The yield of his structures has exceeded 80 or 90% in some cases increased function,
and is largely dependent on the integrity of the DNA scaffold used. stability, etc.
Arbitrary patterns of DNA can be created and these may be marked
with chemical labels.
The paragraphs that follow consider some of the major functions that
must be served in a productive nanosystem, and the kinds of subsystems
required to implement them. In early-generation systems, the answer is
often “nothing required.”
For information processing, the gains likely in the optical domain are
smaller than in some other domains simply because the scale of useful
devices is set by the wavelength of light. The chemical flexibility of APM
promises better materials, and the general manufacturing flexibility of
APM promises easier integration of systems than current
manufacturing allows, but this area presents fewer opportunities for
strikingly new features than some of the other areas considered.
Over the longer term, APM and medical applications are a natural fit.
Living materials are intricately structured on the nanoscale. Many
interactions between our cells involve complex nanoscale actions (e.g.,
the presentation of antigens in [what is the name of the cells involved?]
out immune system). It seems reasonable to expect both diagnostic and
therapeutic activities to involve more and more materials structured on
this scale.
With very advanced APM, the potential exists to construct systems that
are substantially better than the biological subsystems in healthy
humans. For example, there have been theoretical studies of micron
scale AP systems (“respirocytes”) that would perform the same oxygen-
Reed, M. A.; Zhou, C..; Muller, C. J.; Burgin, T. P.; and Tour, J. M. 1997.
“Conductance of a Molecular Junction,” Science, 10 October 1997: Vol.
278. no. 5336, pp. 252 – 254
3.1 Introduction
This topic presents techniques for fabricating atomically precise
components, as well as a brief survey and assessment of coarser-
resolution technologies (e.g., nanolithographic methods) that can
facilitate the development or application of atomically precise systems,
including productive nanosystems and their products.
DNA Structures.
• Are now straightforward to design to a target atomically
precise 3D structure
• Provide more than an order of magnitude more design
choice than other available alternatives
• Produce atomically precise structures two orders of
magnitude more massive than other alternatives.
DNA Limitations.
• DNA provides excellent topological control, and has
substantial bending stiffness, but the flexibility of the DNA
molecule is substantial and the grid size is set by base pair
spacing (~0.3 nm) and the helix diameter (~2 nm), which for
many applications is relatively coarse.
• DNA is not, in itself, a chemically versatile material. It is built
from four nucleotides, all with similar sizes and chemical
properties. In order to provide highly functional atomically
precise structures, it must be linked to more highly
functional components.
• Chemical synthesis is currently limited to a modest number
of base pairs (<150), and biologically produced DNA strands
must be used in conjunction with shorter designed strands to
create larger structures. The number of base pairs that can be
chemically synthesized towards a target application is
Nanotechnology Roadmap Topics in Detail 119
currently dependent on the project’s tolerance for limited
yields and for impurities, rather than only being dependent
on the underlying chemistry.
• DNA is a single material with a particular set of properties.
Many desirable products will require a variety of material
properties that DNA does not provide and will be difficult to
achieve with DNA as the primary “glue” or framework of the
product.
The first and second of these items can be addressed by linking DNA to
functional components.
A key requirement for stable and specific APSA using designed DNA,
protein or other oligomeric molecules is that matching surfaces must be
large enough to display multiple molecular features with distinct
properties (of shape, charge, polarity, hydrogen bonding, etc.). These
features enable the design of complementary surfaces that exhibit
strong cooperative binding, while disrupting binding among other, non-
complementary surfaces. This constrains the designed molecules to
have a minimum size, on the order of a few nanometers along two or
three of their dimensions. This means that the molecules must be at
least 5 kD to 10 kD. In addition the molecules must be complex,
information rich and asymmetric. Satisfying these criteria
3.4.1 Background
Starting with the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) in 1982
(Binnig and Rohrer, 1982) and the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) in
1986 (Binning et al., 1986), scanning probe microscopy has proven
capable of atomically precise manipulation for approximately two
decades. This generally involves direct manipulation techniques that
move atoms or molecules on surfaces. These operations use mechanical
positioning to direct the making and breaking of strong bonds, and thus
The first involves using two different passivating species, where one
may be selectively removed without disturbing the other. For instance,
both Cl and H will successfully passivate Si (100) surfaces. H will desorb
from the Si surface at lower temperatures than Cl. By using the
patterned Cl layer to first passivate a Si surface, ALE may be used to
grow Si in that patterned area. If the ALE process is one that uses
hydrogen as the passivating chemistry, then the ALE process may be
continued without additional patterning by using temperature as the
depassivating process for the H passivated Si. Because the Cl will remain
in place, then the ALE process will only grow Si in the area that was
originally patterned in the Cl passivation layer. The process may be
continued for as many deposition cycles as desired for that pattern.
Control of the growth on the sidewalls of the ALE grown structure may
be an issue.
Perhaps the most accessible approaches would use binding sites at the
active tip to capture reactive species from solution, eliminating the need
for motions or transport systems to acquire them. This approach could
be applied to a range of structures of kinds compatible with synthesis in
a solution-phase environment. These include highly cross-linked
polymers, oxide ceramics (ZnO, TiO2), some semiconductors (CdSe, The combination of mild
CdS) and metals (Cu, Ni), and, perhaps surprisingly, graphite. Many of conditions and processing
these materials have attractive properties, such as fine-grained simplicity of these
regularity, high rigidity, and excellent chemical and thermal stability. approaches suggests their
Many are compatible with synthesis in an aqueous environment, utility as targets for
facilitating the exploitation of atomically precise tools derived from scanning-probe-based, tip-
biopolymers. directed mechanosynthesis,
as well as their suitability
The combination of mild conditions and processing simplicity of these
for early-generation
approaches suggests their utility as targets for scanning-probe-based,
implementations of
tip-directed mechanosynthesis. It likewise suggests their suitability for
early-generation implementations of productive nanosystems that productive nanosystems
employ tip-directed mechanosynthesis. that employ tip-directed
mechanosynthesis.
This range of approaches has received too little attention relative to
some of the earlier concepts for mechanosynthesis. Complexity and
difficulties increase with the reactivity of the species to be positioned
and with requirements for additional operations and mechanisms to
effect feedstock acquisition, activation, and transport. All of these
problems arise with synthetic approaches based on high-energy species,
such as radicals and carbenes, of kinds ordinarily considered to be
fleeting reactive intermediates. The use of these species appears to
entail all of the technical difficulties of experimentation under ultra-
high vacuum conditions. That initial explorations of the upper limits of
what can be accomplished by mechanosynthesis have inadvertently
focused attention on this class of systems to the near exclusion of others
that appear more suitable for practical development may have imposed
artificial bounds on progress.
3.4.6 Summary
Scanning probe fabrication is one of many viable pathways to
productive nanosystems. Underscoring the promise of scanning-probe
based fabrication approaches, DARPA has recently issued a Broad
132 Topics in Detail Nanotechnology Roadmap
Agency Announcement (BAA) soliciting proposals on Tip-Based
Nanofabrication to make nanowires, nanotubes, or quantum dots using
functionalized scanning probe tips (Foley et al., 1998).
Figure3-3. Example of Hybrid Fabrication. Left, schematic of molecular motor. Right, SEM image of the
working motor. A 250-500 nm rotor was suspended on a double-walled carbon nanotube
(the atomically precise part in the assembly). Electrodes were lithographically fabricated on
either side of the rotor, underneath the rotor (not shown), and around the ends of the
nested nanotube. Varying the voltage differences between electrodes caused the rotor to
spin. Courtesy Zettl Research Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University
of California at Berkeley.
We have seen from the range of examples above that some types of
components that would be useful in advanced nanosystems have
already been either fabricated or isolated from biological systems. This
is significant with respect to the often contentious issues of both
feasibility and timeline: groups are building molecular machines now.
The motors are powerful enough, and the machine components are
While there has been efficient enough, to drive complex systems of molecular mechanical
considerable progress in devices and perform useful operations at the nanoscale.1 Carbon
the fabrication and study nanotubes have proven to be quite versatile as both structural and
of individual components, multi-functional materials, however, variability due to structural defects
significantly more progress could potentially cause significant variations in the performance of
toward the integration of nanotube devices. While there has been considerable progress in the
various types of fabrication and study of individual components, significantly more
components into more progress toward the integration of various types of components into
complex systems is needed.
more complex systems is needed. For example, a useful advance would
be the introduction of gear teeth onto carbon nanotubes to convert
For example, a useful
rotary motion into linear motion, and to transfer rotary motion from
advance would be the
one nanotube to another.
introduction of gear teeth
onto carbon nanotubes to More advanced manipulation and construction tools are required to
convert rotary motion into achieve this level of sophistication: the increased complexity means
linear motion, and to moving from a two-dimensional to a three-dimensional architecture.
transfer rotary motion (For example, a simple rack and pinion operates on two separate
from one nanotube to planes.) Multiple manipulators, or some form of three-dimensional
another. scaffolding, will likely be required to hold components in place on these
multiple planes during the construction process.
1
This includes mechanical operations of the types illustrated on the NanoRex website,
http://nanoengineer-1.com/content/
138 Topics in Detail Nanotechnology Roadmap
Table 3-2. Representative Molecular Motors, Actuators, and Mechanical Devices.
Device Function Representative Reference
Nanotube Motor with MWNT serving as a A. M. Fennimore, T. D. Yuzvinsky, Wei-Qiang Han,
Nanomotor bearing for the rotor and as an M. S. Fuhrer, J. Cumings, and A. Zettl, “Rotational
electrical conductor actuators based on carbon nanotubes,” Nature 424
(July 24, 2003): 408-410
Molecular Molecular actuator able to reversibly B.C. Regan, S. Aloni, K. Jensen, R.O. Ritchie and A.
Actuator push apart two carbon nanotubes Zettl, "Nanocrystal-Powered Nanomotor," Nano
Letters 5 (2005): 1730-1733.
Molecular Nanoseal that can be opened and Nguyen TD, Liu Y, Saha S, Leung KC, Stoddart JF,
Seal closed at will to trap and release Zink JI., “Design and optimization of molecular
molecules – can be triggered and nanovalves based on redox-switchable bistable
reversed by redox chemistry or rotaxanes” J Am Chem Soc. 2007 Jan 24;129(3):626-
changes in pH 34
Molecular Nearly frictionless bearing made from Cumings, J.; Zettl, A. " Low-Friction Nanoscale Linear
Bearings two co-rotating nested nanotubes Bearing Realized from Multiwall Carbon
Nanotubes," Science 289 (2000): 602-604.
Nanosprings Lithographic methods were used to P. A. Williams, S. J. Papadakis, A. M. Patel, M. R.
fabricate paddles or levers onto multi- Falvo, S. Washburn, and R. Superfine, "Fabrication of
wall carbon nanotubes acting as nanometer-scale mechanical devices incorporating
torsional springs individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes as
torsional springs," Applied Physics Letters, v. 82, no.
5 (3 Feb 2003): 805-807.
Telescoping Manipulator capable of extending the Cumings and Zettl, “Low-Friction Nanoscale Linear
Arms inner nanotube in a MWNT Bearing Realized from Multiwall Carbon
Nanotubes”. Science 289, 602-604 (2000)
Biomotors Molecular motors evolved by nature Montemagno, C. D., and Bachand, G. D.,
that perform a variety of mechanical "Constructing nanomechanical devices powered by
tasks biomolecular motors." Nanotechnology 10 (1999):
225-331
“Nanocar” Molecular Feringa motor rotates and Shirai Y, Morin JF, Sasaki T, Guerrero JM, Tour JM,
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against a substrate, propelling a 2006 Nov;35(11):1043-55
molecular chasis forward along an
atomically flat surface, powered by 365
nm wavelength light
DNA-based DNA-based robot arm inserted into a Ding B, Seeman NC., “Operation of a DNA robot
robotic arm 2D array substrate and verified by arm inserted into a 2D DNA crystalline substrate.”
atomic force microscopy to be a Science. 2006 Dec 8;314(5805):1583-5
functional nanomechanical device
with a fixed frame of reference
Molecular A molecule called 9,10- Wong KL, Pawin G, Kwon KY, Lin X, Jiao T, Solanki
carrier dithioanthracene (DTA) with two U, Fawcett RH, Bartels L, Stolbov S, Rahman TS., “A
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across a flat surface w/o tracks. Can
carry molecular payloads of CO2.
Molecular A STM tip drives a single 1.8-nm- Franco Chiaravalloti, Leo Gross, Karl-Heinz Rieder,
rack and diameter pinion molecule functioning Sladjana M. Stojkovic, André Gourdon, Christian
pinion as a six-toothed wheel interlocked at Joachim, Francesca Moresco, “A rack-and-pinion
the edge of a self-assembled molecular device at the molecular scale,” Nature Materials 6,
island acting as a rack. The rotation of 30–33 (2007);
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chemical tag on one cog. mat1802.html
This is well above the size of the finest features that can be created by
top-down methods.
Some of the advantages that have been suggested for hybrid systems
include:
• Bringing multiple electrical connections to atomically precise
systems
• Exploiting the long-range positional control of top-down
pattern generation, e.g., positioning many instances of an
atomically precise system in a lattice with coherent spacing
over centimeters – e.g., for X-ray diffraction studies to refine
structures, or to make structures like zone plates for X-ray
optics.
3.6.1 Background
Sometime before the year 2000 critical dimensions (CDs) of state-of-
the-art silicon integrated circuit products crossed below 100 nm and, in
doing so, entered the size realm usually associated with
nanotechnology. This industry is currently at the 45 nm technology
node and is encountering significant technology and cost-of-ownership
140 Topics in Detail Nanotechnology Roadmap
(COO) hurdles as it works towards future technology nodes at 32 nm,
22 nm, and below. The International Technology Roadmap for
Semiconductors (ITRS) organization maintains and continuously
updates a comprehensive roadmap for lithography for the silicon
integrated circuit manufacturing community, and as a result no such
roadmap will be repeated here. A summary of next-generation
lithography (NGL) technologies that are addressed in that roadmap is:
• Immersion – optical lithography performed in a fluid
medium that serves to reduce the effective wavelength by a
factor of 1/n, where n is the refractive index of the fluid;
• EUV – extreme ultraviolet lithography using 13.5 nm
radiation, usually in conjunction with reflective optics;
• Imprint – nanoimprint lithography, in which a patterned
hard mold is mechanically stamped into a resist using
pressure, temperature and illumination;
• ML2 – Next-generation maskless lithography, a category that
includes a number of maskless technologies such as electron
beam direct patterning as well as maskless optical
lithography.
Another class of molecules that have been widely used to form self-
assembled monolayers is the organosilanes. In this case, they must first
be hydrolyzed to form the hydroxysilane intermediate, which is the key
component that undergoes the self-assembly process. In this case, the
attractive interaction between the head group and the surface is a
hydrogen bond between the hydroxysilane and the oxide surface. As the
hydroxysilanes aggregate, making a macromolecular aggregate, the
hydroxysilanes slowly start to undergo condensation chemistry, both
among themselves and with the oxide surface, ultimately resulting in a
covalently anchored, and crosslinked monolayer system.
This provides a very high surface area support for catalyst, sorbent and
sensing/detection applications. Because these pores are generally larger
than simple organosilanes, it is possible to functionalize these internal
pore surfaces using a third generation of self-assembly by installing a
self-assembled monolayer on this mesoporous framework. If these
organosilanes are terminated with chemically specific binding sites, it is
possible to create an ordered hierarchical array of binding sites that
have high chemical affinity for a wide variety of target species. For
example, if we line the pores with alkylthiols, we create a nanoporous
sorbent that has exceptionally high affinity for “soft” heavy metals like
Hg, Cd, Ag and Pb. Heavy metal sorption kinetics are quite fast (often
complete in a few minutes) and selectivity in the presence of common
ions (like Na, Ca, Fe, etc.) is excellent. These self-assembled monolayers
on mesoporous supports (SAMMS™) are thus arrived at via three
successive generations of self-assembly (surfactants to micelles, sol-gel
micelles to mesostructured greenbody, and functionalization via self-
assembled monolayers), and have been tailored for effective separations
of a wide variety of environmentally problematic species (e.g., heavy
metals, radionuclides, oxometallate anions, cesium, iodine, etc.).
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4.1 Introduction
The processes of modeling, design, and characterization apply the
discoveries of basic scientific research to support the cycles of
development that drive advances in technological capabilities. These
processes are interwoven and mutually supportive.
4.5 Modeling
The predictive modeling of mechanical and electronic phenomena in
the 1 to 100 nm range is being extended through improvements both in
computational algorithms and computer technology. The rapid
improvements in processor performance have driven theoretical work
in all fields of science and are well known. However, while processor
performance alone could drive the extension of theoretical studies to
new size regimes, the development of efficient, scalable software has
also had tremendous impact on the field of molecular modeling by
enabling independent researchers to use commodity hardware in
individual laboratories to approach the computational speeds of
dedicated supercomputers.
Nanotechnology Roadmap Topics in Detail 163
Nanoscale science presents new challenges to both experimentalists and
theoreticians. While experimentalists are exploring novel properties of
materials at this scale, theoreticians are exploiting computational
resources powerful enough to study nanoscale systems using molecular
modeling tools developed for small systems in computational chemistry.
Solid-state methods have only recently reached the level of detail and
accuracy of molecular methods through the introduction of density
functional theoretical implementations of solid-state code and the
availability of computational resources capable of performing the
calculations. Periodic boundary conditions can now be employed for the
study of crystalline materials, amorphous materials modeled with
periodic boundary conditions in order to artificially impose
environmental constraints in a more physically realistic manner (as
opposed to the solvent shell methods of molecular quantum theory),
and idealized structures that exploit the spatial restrictions of the
periodic boundary conditions (such as by fixing the separations of
interacting structures bound along lattice planes).